The end of 'America's place in the world': Former ambassador to Russia explains the consequences

https://www.rawstory.com/2019/01/end-americas-place-world-former-ambassador-russia-explains-consequences-putin-wins/

snip of article:


If American-British businessman Bill Browder is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “public enemy no. 1,” then Michael McFaul, who served as President Barack Obama’s representative to Russia from 2012 to 2014 after helping him craft the “Russia reset” policy as a senior foreign policy adviser, is seemingly a close second. Along with Browder, McFaul was one of several people who Trump offered to hand over to Putin for interrogation at the Helsinki summit last July.

Salon spoke to McFaul last month. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Question:
I have several questions pertaining to current events and your own role in recent affairs. First, looking back several months later, after the Helsinki summit, when President Donald Trump suggested handing you over to President Vladimir Putin, do you feel like that represented any kind of turning point in terms of the public’s understanding of the problematic nature of Trump’s ties to Russia?

Part of Answer:

I think you saw in Helsinki on the biggest stage you can imagine where that was on display and that was showed how with his own intelligence community he wouldn’t stand with them and stood with Putin instead. He entertained as a great idea, as I recall, the idea of handing over American diplomats and government officials to be interrogated by Putin. I think with everybody watching the world began to understand, and I hope most of America, the President’s particular strategy towards Putin and how irrational and irresponsible it is.

Question:
Can you contextualize that a little bit for lay people who aren’t familiar with what a diplomat’s job is, and the idea of being able to speak your mind freely as a servant of the American government particularly when you’re talking about a dictatorial foreign power? If Trump had succeeded in what he was proposing to do, what kind of precedent that would have established?

Part of Answer:

Well, it’d be a horrible precedent and not only for diplomats, although first and foremost for them, but for all Americans who serve abroad. I’m glad you asked the question. Let’s be clear what they were talking about.

Mr. Putin, Vladimir Putin has alleged in his government — and did the day after, he did a little bit in Helsinki, in a paragraph — but then his government, the prosecutor general’s office, spelled this out in detail at a press conference the following day. They are accusing a dozen Americans and one British citizen, Bill Browder, of conspiring to help Browder steal money, and then give it to the Hillary Clinton campaign in 2016. So, he is accusing us of crimes. In my particular case, by the way, it wasn’t even while I was serving as US Ambassador that I had allegedly committed this crazy crime. It was when I worked at the White House, in 2009 and 2010 as a member of the National Security Council.

Read more of the interview if interested.